Altoids-Sours based Speaker/Amp?

[Snipeye]

Alright, here's what I'm trying to do:

I want to make a speaker for my iPod, that people can here without being 2 inches away. I was thinking of doing this is one of the circular altoids sours tins (roughly 75mm diameter)

I was looking at speakers, and this one looks decent:

Digi-Key - 668-1112-ND (Manufacturer - AS02708CO-WR-R)

Unfortunately, that is the extent of my knowledge. I want to power it with a single AA, because I don't think I could fit 2 in there, but I don't know what amp, what circuit, what ANYTHING. Help me, please?

[Rembrant]

Your not going to power any speaker amp with a single AA I can tell you that. It's hard enough making a headphone amp do that, and I still think there are to many compromises that way.

HeadBanger Headphone Amp Construction Kit
That amplifier is designed as a head amp but will easily power a set of small speakers. I use a 9.6v(Nominal not max V) NiMh battery pac for an RC car. You can get one of 1000mAh with the charger from RadioShack. It will last around 4-5 hours at full volume. Look for a set of cheap Ipod speakers that are made to use no amp and you will have to turn it down most of the time. Look for speakers in the dollar store and take a portable player. Look for a speaker around 2" or bigger. You can always change the speakers enclosure later for a better sound. You need to find an efficient speaker. I'm sure you can get exactly what you need at a discount store or the like. Even order it from the net for less than the shipping.

P.S. Every part of this project you can go buy at RadioShack. Don't forget a case for it. I used a white plastic travel soap case.. I'm cheap! The battery is the same size as the soap case only thinner. So I strapped it underneath with a zip tie. You can fit the battery inside easy if you want to. I just wanted to be able to change power sources easy. My friend used a small 3" square piece of Tupperware for his and he broke the battery down and fit it inside with a connection for the charger.

[Snipeye]

Well, the whole deal is that I want to make my own, not just assemble something. If there's just kind of a simple circuit that I could power with maybe a 9v or 2 AA, then feed into the speaker.... Does anybody know of such a design?

[Rembrant]

Originally Posted by Snipeye

Well, the whole deal is that I want to make my own, not just assemble something. If there's just kind of a simple circuit that I could power with maybe a 9v or 2 AA, then feed into the speaker.... Does anybody know of such a design?

How cute. LOL
What kind of answer did you expect? You are in a chip amp forum. Where we make amps out of silicon chips called Chip Amps! The headbanger amp is made with a chip amp called the LM386.. Making sense, yes..
Did you even look at the page I listed?!!! It is a tutorial on how to build your own amplifier! I know it says Kit but what it means is it is all the information, the schematics, the detailed instructions. IT IS NOT A KIT... IT IS A TUTORIAL... you still have to buy the individual parts from a store and build the thing. That is exactly what that is.. FFS read it!!! That guy has shown you how to build a stereo speaker/headphone amp with parts you can get at RadioShack! If you don't want to buy parts, how are you going to build anything?

The circuits don't get any more simple than that. Look, I can tell your new at this. You can't power any worthwhile speaker amp with only 1.2-2.4v ok. You WILL need about 9-10v minimum! You can't just jumble some wires together with a battery and make an amp. They are complex electrical circuits. You have to start out by building amps that other people have designed and learn a lot more before you can even think about designing your own.

There are very few noob friendly designs available. The one I listed is just about the only one I can think of that will power small speakers reliably and is photo documented and all laid out for the beginner to build. It really doesn't get any easier. This will run off one 9v battery but it wont last very long or get very loud. It really needs 12v for speakers.

Here is some light reading to help you in your quest for DIY audio.
Audiologica
Remeber! We don't build this stuff to save money. We build it because no one will build it as well as we can. If you really don't want to get into this, then go to Walmart and buy a cheap set of battery powered computer speakers and take them apart! Bang... instant battery powered amp with speakers! You can tell everyone you built it. We won't say anything. I hope you take the red pill and join the side of the greater good though.

[Snipeye]

Thank you very much. When I looked through there, it was more of a brief glance.

You're right, I am an extreme beginner, so thanks for the help. As for the speaker, I just assume that rather than the output of the amp going to a 1/8 stereo jack, it goes to the speaker?

[Rembrant]

Correct. You would connect the three wires.(1 ground and 2 signal) to the speakers just like you would headphones.

Before I confuse you, each speaker will need signal and ground wires but the ground from each side goes to one place on the amp. That's why I say three.

[jaycee]

If you just want a simple circuit to drive 2 speakers from a 9v battery, get a TDA2822 chip. This will do what you want with a fairly low parts count.

[Th3 uN1Qu3]

Originally Posted by jaycee

If you just want a simple circuit to drive 2 speakers from a 9v battery, get a TDA2822 chip. This will do what you want with a fairly low parts count.

There's another option with the 2822 - you can buy two, bridge each and have one speaker per chip, and run the whole thing off two cellphone batteries in series. No big capacitors required (read: EVEN LOWER PARTS COUNT and smaller footprint too), and it'll get louder.

Noise does become somewhat of an issue tho, as the TDA2822 bridged has ridiculous gain. But i've built one and it was LOUD. Certainly louder than a cellphone, and i used to own the Nokia 6233 which has the loudest and clearest speakers you will ever find in a phone.

Anyway, if you don't know any of this electronics mumbo jumbo, try making something that flickers an LED first. Then learn a little bit about opamps (nothing too big, just basic configurations and how to set gain), then build something around the TDA2822. In essence, audio amplifiers are just big opamps. Try reading this. It's quite a fun presentation.

Also the basic tools required: Breadboard (i prefer the soldered type, it's more reliable), solder, flux, solder sucker, and soldering iron of 15-20W power. And a cheap digital multimeter. You can get all of those tools for under $50 at your local radio shack or similar store, and even cheaper if you get one of those chinese soldering irons, but they aren't all that good. Once you have those you're good to go.

Then learn to follow a schematic and order your stuff on the breadboard. Having wires jumbled all over the place not only looks ugly but increases the noise and distortion of the circuit, and you don't want that. Then you can use a PCB design program and make actual circuit boards. I prefer ExpressPCB, as a matter of fact you can actually design your circuit in it and build it on the breadboard rather than a PCB, i do many of my designs like that because i'm too lazy to make PCBs. It makes for a really ordered breadboard.

[Rembrant]

He could do any number of things, but he is a beginner. The headbanger page has everything explained from point to point with diagrams and even photos of what it should look like. The pictures really help when you don't exactly understand what the text says or what your doing. Plus, it is pretty low parts count as it is. If my feeling is correct, he wants to build it because he wants to understand how they work. I think going much easier would be a disservice.

[Th3 uN1Qu3]

Maybe, but i may just be "under the influence" a bit too much. I still think a basic knowledge of opamps is needed to build an audio amplifier - and i'm talking from experience - i'm just 18 and i built my first amp 4 years ago, and it wasn't easy at all. Knowing how things run even at the most basic level would have been great help.

For one to work with transistors, one's not supposed to know how transistors work, just their basic modes of operation as encountered in the real world. The same goes with chips - heck you could train a monkey to wire up a working TDA7294. But will the monkey be able to explain why it makes music (at least to human ears) ? Hell no it won't.